Holland and Germany, Casanova, v13 by Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

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THE RARE UNABRIDGED LONDON EDITION OF 1894 TRANSLATED BY ARTHURMACHEN TO WHICH HAS BEEN ADDED THE CHAPTERS DISCOVEREDBY ARTHUR SYMONS.

THE ETERNAL QUEST

HOLLAND AND GERMANY

CHAPTER X

Portrait of the Pretended Countess Piccolomini--Quarrel and Duel--Esther and Her Father, M. D'O.--Esther Still Taken with the Cabala--Piccolomini Forges a Bill of Exchange: Results I Am Fleeced, and inDanger of Being Assassinated--Debauch with the Two Paduan Girls--I Reveal A Great Secret To Esther--I Bate the Rascally St. Germain;His Flight--Manon Baletti Proves Faithless to Me; Her LetterAnnouncing Her Marriage: My Despair--Esther Spends a Day With Me--MyPortrait and My Letters to Manon Get Into Esther's Hands--I Pass aDay with Her--We Talk of Marrying Each Other

The so-called Countess Piccolomini was a fine example of theadventurers. She was young, tall, well-made, had eyes full of fire,and skin of a dazzling whiteness; not, however, that naturalwhiteness which delights those who know the value of a satin skin androse petals, but rather that artificial fairness which is commonly tobe seen at Rome on the faces of courtezans, and which disgusts thosewho know how it is produced. She had also splendid teeth, glorioushair as black as jet, and arched eyebrows like ebony. To theseadvantages she added attractive manners, and there was somethingintelligent about the way she spoke; but through all I saw theadventuress peeping out, which made me detest her.

As she did not speak anything but Italian the countess had to playthe part of a mute at table, except where an English officer namedWalpole was concerned, who, finding her to his taste, set himself toamuse her. I felt friendly disposed towards this Englishman, thoughmy feelings were certainly not the result of sympathy. If I had beenblind or deaf Sir James Walpole would have been totally indifferentto me, as what I felt for him was the result of my observation.

Although I did not care for the countess, for all that I went up toher room after dinner with the greater part of the guests. The countarranged a game of whist, and Walpole played at primero with thecountess, who cheated him in a masterly manner; but though he saw ithe laughed and paid, because it suited his purpose to do so. When hehad lost fifty Louis he called quarter, and the countess asked him totake her to the theatre. This was what the good-natured Englishmanwanted; and he and the countess went off, leaving the husband playingwhist.

I, too, went to the play, and as chance would have it my neighbour inthe pit was Count Tot, brother to the count famous for his stay inConstantinople.

We had some conversation together, and he told me he had been obligedto leave France on account of a duel which he had had with a man whohad jested with him for not being present at the battle of Minden,saying that he had absented himself in view of the battle. The counthad proved his courage with the sword on the other's body--a roughkind of argument which was fashionable then as now. He told me hehad no money, and I immediately put my purse at his service; but, asthe saying goes, a kindness is never thrown away, and five yearslater he did the same by me at St. Petersburg. Between the acts hehappened to notice the Countess Piccolomini, and asked me if I knewher husband. "I know him very slightly," I answered, "but we happento be staying at the same hotel."

"He's a regular black sheep," said the count, "and his wife's nobetter than he."

It seemed that they had already won a reputation in the town.

After the play I went back to the hotel by myself, and the head-waiter told me that Piccolomini had set out hot-foot with hisservant, his only luggage being a light portmanteau. He did not knowthe reason of this sudden departure, but a minute afterwards thecountess came in, and her maid having whispered something to her shetold me that the count had gone away because he had fought a duel butthat often happened. She asked me to sup with her and Walpole, andher appetite did not seem to suffer from the absence of her spouse.

Just as we were finishing supper, an Englishman, who had been of thewhist party, came up and told Walpole that the Italian had beencaught cheating and had given the lie to their fellow Englishman, whohad detected him, and that they had gone out together. An hourafterwards the Englishman returned with two wounds, one on the fore-arm and one on the shoulder. It was a trifling affair altogether.

Next day, after I had had dinner with the Comte d'Afri, I found aletter from Piccolomini, with an enclosure addressed to the countess,waiting for me at the inn. He begged me to give his wife the letter,which would inform her of his plans, and then to bring her to theVille de Lyon at Amsterdam, where he was staying. He wanted to knowhow the Englishman whom he had wounded was getting on.

The duty struck me as an amusing one, and I should have laughed withall my heart if I had felt the least desire to profit by theconfidence he was pleased to place in me. Nevertheless I went up tothe countess, whom I found sitting up in bed playing with Walpole.She read the letter, told me that she could not start till the dayfollowing, and informed me what time she would go, as if it had beenall settled; but I smiled sardonically, and told her that my businesskept me at the Hague, and that I could not possibly escort her. WhenWalpole heard me say this he offered to be my substitute, to whichshe agreed. They set out the day following, intending to lie atLeyden.

Two days after their departure, I was sitting down to dinner with theusual company, increased by two Frenchmen who had just come. Afterthe soup one of them said, coolly,

"The famous Casanova is now in Holland."

"Is he?" said the other, "I shall be glad to see him, and ask for anexplanation which he will not like."

I looked at the man, and feeling certain that I had never seen himbefore I began to get enraged; but I merely asked the fellow if heknew Casanova.

"You are really very much mistaken if you think you are the onlyCasanova in the world."

It was a sharp answer, and put me in the wrong. I bit my lips andheld my tongue, but I was grievously offended, and determined to makehim find the Casanova who was in Holland, and from whom he was goingto extract an unpleasant explanation, in myself. In the meanwhile Ibore as well as I could the poor figure he must be cutting before theofficers at table, who, after hearing the insolence of this youngblockhead, might take me for a coward. He, the insolent fellow, hadno scruple in abusing the triumph his answer had given him, andtalked away in the random fashion. At last he forgot himself so faras to ask from what country I came.

"I am a Venetian, sir," I replied.

"Ah! then you are a good friend to France, as your republic is underFrench protection."

At these words my ill-temper boiled aver, and, in the tone of voiceone uses to put down a puppy, I replied that the Republic of Venicewas strong enough to do without the protection of France or of anyother power, and that during the thirteen centuries of its existenceit had had many friends and allies but no protectors. "Perhaps," Iended, "you will reply by begging my pardon for not knowing thatthese was only one Venice in the world."

I had no sooner said this than a burst of laughter from the wholetable set me right again. The young blockhead seemed taken aback andin his turn bit his lips, but his evil genius made him, strike inagain at dessert. As usual the conversation went from one subject toanother, and we began to talk about the Duke of Albermarle. TheEnglishmen spoke in his favour, and said that if he had been alivethere would have been no war between England and France; they wereprobably right, but even if the duke had lived war might have brokenout, as the two nations in question have never yet succeeded inunderstanding that it is for both their interests to live at peacetogether. Another Englishman praised Lolotte, his mistress. I saidI had seen that charming woman at the Duchess of Fulvi's, and that noone deserved better to become the Countess of Eronville. The Countof Eronville, a lieutenant-general and a man of letters, had justmarried her.

I had scarcely finished what I had to say when Master Blockhead said,with a laugh, that he knew Lolotte to be a good sort of girl, as hehad slept with her at Paris. I could restrain myself no longer; myindignation and rage consumed me. I took up my plate, and made as ifI would throw it at his head, saying at the same time, "You infernalliar!" He got up, and stood with his back to the fire, but I couldsee by his sword-knot that he was a soldier.

Everybody pretended not to hear anything of this, and theconversation went on for some time on indifferent subjects; and atlast they all rose from their seats and left the room.

My enemy said to his companion that they would see one another againafter the play, and remained by the fire, with his elbow resting onthe chimney-piece. I remained at table till the company had all leftthe room, and when we were alone together I got up and looked himstraight in the face, and went out, walking towards Sheveningue, surethat he would follow me if he were a man of any mettle. When I hadgot to some distance from the hotel I looked round, and saw that hewas following me at a distance of fifty paces.

When I got to the wood I stopped at a suitable place, and stoodawaiting my antagonist. He was ten paces off when he drew his sword,and I had plenty of time to draw mine though he came on fast. Thefight did not last long, for as soon as he was near enough I gave hima thrust which has never failed me, and sent him back quicker than hecame. He was wounded in the chest above the right breast, but as mysword was flat and the opening large enough the wound bled easily. Ilowered my sword and ran up to him, but I could do nothing; he saidthat we should meet again at Amsterdam, if I was going there, andthat he would have his revenge. I saw him again five or six yearsafterwards at Warsaw, and then I did him a kindness. I heardafterwards that his name was Varnier, but I do not know whether hewas identical with the president of the National Convention under theinfamous Robespierre.

I did not return to the hotel till after the play, and I then heardthat the Frenchman, after having the surgeon with him for an hour,had set out for Rotterdam with his friend. We had a pleasant supperand talked cheerfully together without a word being said about theduel, with the exception that an English lady said, I forget in whatconnection, that a man of honour should never risk sitting down todinner at an hotel unless he felt inclined, if necessary, to fight.The remark was very true at that time, when one had to draw the swordfor an idle word, and to expose one's self to the consequences of aduel, or else be pointed at, even by the ladies, with the finger ofscorn.

I had nothing more to keep me at the Hague, and I set out nextmorning before day-break for Amsterdam. On the way I stopped fordinner and recognized Sir James Walpole, who told me that he hadstarted from Amsterdam the evening before, an hour after giving thecountess into her husband's charge. He said that he had got verytired of her, as he had nothing more to get from a woman who gavemore than one asked, if one's purse-strings were opened wide enough.I got to Amsterdam about midnight and took up my abode at "The OldBible." The neighbourhood of Esther had awakened my love for thatcharming girl, and I was so impatient to see her that I could notsleep.

I went out about ten o'clock and called on M. d'O, who welcomed mein the friendliest manner and reproached me for not having alightedat his house. When he heard that I had given up business hecongratulated me on not having removed it into Holland, as I shouldhave been ruined. I did not tell him that I had nearly come to thatin France, as I considered such a piece of information would notassist my designs. He complained bitterly of the bad faith of theFrench Government, which had involved him in considerable losses; andthen he asked me to come and see Esther.

I was too impatient to embrace her to stay to be asked twice; I ranto greet her. As soon as she saw me she gave a cry of surprise anddelight, and threw herself in my arms, where I received her withfondness equal to her own. I found her grown and improved; shelooked lovely. We had scarcely sat down when she told me that shehad become as skilled in the cabala as myself.

"It makes my life happy," said she, "for it gives me a power over myfather, and assures me that he will never marry me to anyone but theman of my choice."

"I am delighted that you extract the only good that can proceed fromthis idle science, namely, the power to guide persons devoid ofstrength of will. But your father must think that I taught you thesecret?"

"Yes, he does; and he said, one day, that he would forgive me anysacrifices I might have made to obtain this precious secret fromyou."

"He goes a little further than we did, my dearest Esther."

"Yes, and I told him that I had gained it from you without anysacrifice, and that now I was a true Pythoness without having toendure the torments of the tripod; and I am sure that the replies yougave were invented by yourself."

"But if that were so how could I have known where the pocket-bookwas, or whether the ship was safe?"

"You saw the portfolio yourself and threw it where it was discovered,and as for the vessel you spoke at random; but as you are an honestman, confess that you were afraid of the results. I am never so boldas that, and when my father asks me questions of that kind, myreplies are more obscure than a sibyl's. I don't wish him to loseconfidence in my oracle, nor do I wish him to be able to reproach mewith a loss that would injure my own interests."

"If your mistake makes you happy I shall leave you in it. You arereally a woman of extraordinary talents--, you are quite unique."

"I don't want your compliments," said she, in a rather vexed manner,"I want a sincere avowal of the truth."

"I don't think I can go as far as that."

At these words, which I pronounced in a serious way, Esther went intoa reverie, but I was not going to lose the superiority I had overher, and racked my brains to find some convincing prediction theoracle might make to her, and while I was doing so dinner wasannounced.

There were four of us at table, and I concluded that the fourth ofthe party must be in love with Esther, as he kept his eyes on her thewhole time. He was her father's favourite clerk, and no doubt herfather would have been glad if she had fallen in love with him, but Isoon saw that she was not likely to do so. Esther was silent allthrough dinner, and we did not mention the cabala till the clerk wasgone.

"Is it possible," said M. d'O, "for my daughter to obtain theanswers of the oracle without your having taught her?"

"I always thought such a thing impossible till to-day," I answered,"but Esther has convinced me that I was mistaken. I can teach thesecret to no one without losing it myself, for the oath I swore tothe sage who taught me forbids me to impart it to another under painof forfeiture. But as your daughter has taken no such oath, havingacquired it herself, she may be for all I know at perfect liberty tocommunicate the secret to anyone."

Esther, who was as keen as a razor, took care to say that the sameoath that I had taken had been imposed on her by the oracle, and thatshe could not communicate the cabalistic secret to anyone without thepermission of her genius, under pain of losing it herself.

I read her inmost thoughts, and was rejoiced to see that her mind wascalmed. She had reason to be grateful to me, whether I had lied ornot, for I had given her a power over her father which a father'skindness could not have assured; but she perceived that what I hadsaid about her oracular abilities had been dictated merely bypoliteness, and she waited till we were alone to make me confess asmuch.

Her worthy father, who believed entirely in the infallibility of ouroracles, had the curiosity to put the same question to both of us, tosee if we should agree in the answer. Esther was delighted with theidea, as she suspected that the one answer would flatly contradictthe other, and M. d'O having written his question on two sheets ofpaper gave them to us. Esther went up to her own room for theoperation, and I questioned the oracle on the table at which we hadhad dinner, in the presence of the father. Esther was quick, as shecame down before I had extracted from the pyramid the letters whichwere to compose my reply, but as I knew what to say as soon as I sawher father read the answer she gave him I was not long in finishingwhat I had to do.

M. d'O---- asked if he should try to get rid of the French securitieshe held in spite of the loss he would incur by selling out.

Esther's oracle replied,

"You must sow plentifully before you reap. Pluck not up the vinebefore the season of the vintage, for your vine is planted in afruitful soil."

Mine ran as follows:--

"If you sell out you will repent, for there will be a newcomptroller-general, who will pay all claims before another year haselapsed."

Esther's answer was conceived in the sibylline style, and I admiredthe readiness of her wit; but mine went right to the point, and theworthy man embraced us joyfully, and, taking his hat and stick, saidthat since our replies agreed he would run the risk of losing threemillion francs and make a profit of five or six hundred thousand inthe course of the year. His daughter began to recant, and would havewarned him against the danger, but he, who was as firm as aMussulman, kissed her again, saying,

"The oracle is not wont to lie, and even if it does deceive me thistime it will only be a fourth part of my fortune that I shall lose."

When Esther and I were alone I began to compliment her, much to herdelight, on the cleverness of her answer, the elegance of her style,and her boldness, for she could not be as well acquainted with Frenchaffairs as I was.

"I am much obliged to you," said she, "for having confirmed my reply,but confess that you lied to please me."

"I confess, since that will please you, and I will even tell you thatyou have nothing more to learn."

"You are a cruel man! But how could you reply that there would beanother comptroller-general in a year's time, and run the risk ofcompromising the oracle? I never dare to say things like that; Ilove the oracle too well to expose it to shame and confusion."

"That shews that I do not invent the answers; but since the oraclehas pronounced it I am willing to bet that Silhouette will bedismissed."

"Your obstinacy drives me to despair, for I shall not rest till Iknow that I am as much a master of the cabala as you are, and yet youwill not confess that you invent the answers yourself. For charity'ssake do something to convince me of the contrary."

"I will think it over."

I passed the whole day with this delightful girl, whose amiabledisposition and great wealth would have made me a happy man if itwere not for my master-passion, the love of independence, and myaversion to make up my mind to live for the rest of my days inHolland.

In the course of my life I have often observed that the happiesthours are often the heralds of misfortune. The very next day my evilgenius took me to the Ville de Lyon. This was the inn wherePiccolomini and his wife were staying, and I found them there in themidst of a horde of cheats and sharpers, like themselves. As soon asthe good people heard my name they rushed forward, some to greet me,and others to have a closer look at me, as if I were some strangewild beast. Amongst those present were a Chevalier de Sabi, who worethe uniform of a Polish major, and protested he had known me atDresden; a Baron de Wiedan, claiming Bohemia as his fatherland, whogreeted me by saying that his friend the Comte St. Germain hadarrived at the Etoile d'Orient, and had been enquiring after me; anattenuated-looking bravo who was introduced to me as the Chevalier dela Perine, whom I recognized at the first glance as the fellow calledTalvis, who had robbed the Prince-Bishop of Presburg, who had lent mea hundred Louis the same day, and with whom I had fought a duel atParis. Finally, there was an Italian named Neri, who looked like ablacksmith minus his honesty, and said that he remembered seeing meone evening at the casino. I recollected having seen him at theplace where I met the wretched Lucie.

In the midst of this band of cut-purses I saw the so-called wife ofthe pretended Chevalier de Sabi, a pretty woman from Saxony, who,speaking Italian indifferently well, was paying her addresses to theCountess Piccolomini.

I bit my lips with anger to find myself in such honourable company,but putting a good face on a bad game I greeted everybody politely,and then drawing a roll of a hundred Louis from my pocket I presentedthem to Master Perine Talvis, telling him I was glad to be able toreturn them to him with my best thanks.

My politeness did not meet with much of a reception, for the impudentscoundrel answered me, as he pocketed the money, that he rememberedhaving lent it me at Presburg, but he also remembered a moreimportant matter.

"And pray what is that?" said I, in a dry and half-disdainful tone.

"You owe me a revenge at the sword's point, as you know right well.Here is the mark of the gash you gave me seven years ago."

So saying, the wretched little man opened his shirt and shewed thesmall round scar. This scene, which belonged more to farce thancomedy, seemed to have struck all tongues with paralysis.

"Anywhere else than in Holland, where important and delicate businessdebars me from fighting, I shall be glad to meet you and mark youagain, if you still desire to cross swords with me; but while I amhere I must beg you not to disturb me. All the same, you may as wellknow that I never go out without a couple of friends in my pockets,and that if you attack me I shall blow your brains out in self-defence"

"My revenge must be with crossed swords," said he. "However, I willlet you finish your business."

"You will do wisely."

Piccolomini, who had been casting a hungry eye upon my hundred louis,proposed immediately afterwards a bank at faro, and began to deal.Prudence would have restrained me from playing in such company, butthe dictates of prudence were overcome by my desire to get back thehundred louis which I had given Talvis, so I cut in. I had a run ofbad luck and lost a hundred ducats, but, as usual, my loss onlyexcited me. I wished to regain what I had lost, so I stayed tosupper, and afterwards, with better luck, won back my money. I wascontent to stop at this, and to let the money I had paid to Talvisgo, so I asked Piccolomini to pay me, which he did with a bill ofexchange on an Amsterdam bank drawn by a firm in Middlesburg. Atfirst I made some difficulty in taking it, on the pretext that itwould be difficult to negotiate, but he promised to let me have themoney next day, and I had to give in.

I made haste to leave this cut-throat place, after refusing to lendTalvis a hundred Louis, which he wanted to borrow of me on thestrength of the revenge I owed him. He was in a bad humour, both onthis account and because he had lost the hundred Louis I had paidhim, and he allowed himself to use abusive language, which I treatedwith contempt. I went to bed, promising myself never to set foot insuch a place again.

The next morning, however, I went out with the intention of callingon Piccolomini to get the bill of exchange cashed, but on my way Ihappened to go into a coffee-house and to meet Rigerboos, Therese'sfriend, whose acquaintance the reader has already made. Aftergreeting each other, and talking about Therese, who was now in Londonand doing well, I skewed him my bill, telling him the circumstancesunder which I had it. He looked at it closely, and said,

"It's a forgery, and the original from which it was copied washonoured yesterday."

He saw that I could scarcely believe it, and told me to come with himto be convinced of the truth of what he said.

He took me to a merchant of his acquaintance, who skewed me thegenuine bill, which he had cashed the day before for an individualwho was unknown to him. In my indignation I begged Rigerboos to comewith me to Piccolomini, telling him that he might cash it withoutremark, and that otherwise he would witness what happened.

We arrived at the count's and were politely received, the countasking me to give him the bill and he would send it to the bank to becashed, but Rigerboos broke in by saying that it would bedishonoured, as it was a mere copy of a bill which had been cashedthe evening before.

Piccolomini pretended to be greatly astonished, and said that,"though he could not believe it, he would look into the matter."

"You may look into it when you please," said I, "but in the mean timeI should be obliged by your giving me five hundred florins."

"You know me, sir," said he, raising his voice, "I guarantee to payyou, and that ought to be enough."

"No doubt it would be enough, if I chose; but I want my money."

At this his wife came in and began to take her part in the dispute,and on the arrival of the count's man, a very cut-threat, Rigerboostook hold of me by the arm and drew me forcibly away. "Follow me,"said he, when we were outside, "and let me see to this businessmyself." He took me to a fine-looking man, who turned out to be thelieutenant of police, and after he had heard the case he told me togive him the bill of exchange and to say where I was going to dine.I told him I should be at M. d'O 's, and saying that would do he wentoff. I thanked Rigerboos, and went to Esther, who reproached metenderly for not having been to see her the evening before. Thatflattered me, and I thought her a really charming girl.

"I must take care," said I, "not to see you every day, for your eyeshave a sway over me that I shall not be able to resist much longer."

"I shall believe as much of that as I choose, but, by-the-by, haveyou thought of any way of convincing me?"

"What do you want to be convinced about?"

"If it be true that there is in your cabala an intelligence distinctfrom your own you ought to be able to find some way of proving it tome."

"That is a happy thought; I will think it over."

At that moment her father came in from the Exchange, and we sat dawnto dinner.

We were at dessert when a police official brought me five hundredflorins, for which I gave him a receipt.

When he had gone I told my entertainers what had happened the eveningbefore and in the morning, and the fair Esther reproached me forpreferring such bad company to her. "By way of punishment," saidshe, "I hope you will come with me to the theatre this evening,though they are going to give a Dutch play, of which you will notunderstand a word."

"I shall be near you, and that is enough for me:"

In fact, I did not comprehend a word of the actors' gibberish, andwas terribly bored, as Esther preserved a solemn and serious silencethe whole time.

As we were coming from the theatre she told me all about the piecewith charming grace and wonderful memory; she seemed to wish to giveme some pleasure in return for the tedium to which she had condemnedme. When we got home we had supper, and that evening, Heaven bethanked! I heard nothing more about the cabala. Before we parted,Esther and her father made me promise to dine with them every day,and to let them know if anything prevented my coming.

Next morning, about eight o'clock, while I was still dressing, Isuddenly saw Piccolomini standing before me, and as he had not sentin his name I began to feel suspicious. I rang the bell for myfaithful Spaniard, who came in directly.

"I want to speak to you privately," said he, "tell that fellow to goout."

"He can stay," I answered, "he does not know a word of Italian." LeDuc, of course, knew Italian perfectly well.

"Yesterday, about noon," he began, "two men came into my room. Theywere accompanied by the innkeeper, who served as interpreter. One ofthe men asked me if I felt inclined to cash there and then a forgedbill of exchange, which I had given the night before, and which heheld in his hands. As I gave no reply, he told me that there was notime for consideration or argument; I must say yes or no there andthen, for such were their instructions from the chief of police. Ihad no choice in the matter, so I paid the five hundred florins, butI did not get back the bill, and the man told me I could not have itunless I told the police the name of the person from whom I got it,as, in the interests of commerce, the forger must be prosecuted. Myreply was that I could not possibly tell them what they wanted, as Ihad got it of a stranger who had come into my room while I washolding a small bank of faro, to pass the time.

"I told him that after this person (who I had thought introduced bysomeone in the company) had gone, I found to my surprise that nobodyknew him; and I added that if I had been aware of this I would notonly have refused the bill but would not have allowed him to play.Thereupon the second policeman said that I had better find out whothis person was, or else I should be considered as the forger andprosecuted accordingly; after this threat they went out.

"In the afternoon my wife called on the chief of police and waspolitely received, but after hearing what she had to say he informedher that she must find out the forger, since M. Casanova's honourmight be endangered by the banker taking proceedings against him, inwhich case he would have to prosecute me.

"You see in what a difficult position we are placed, and I think youought to try to help us. You have got your money and you are notwithout friends. Get their influence exerted in the matter, and weshall hear no more about it. Your interests as well as mine areconcerned."

"Except as a witness of the fact," I answered, "I can have nothing todo with this affair. You agree that I received the bill from you,since you cashed it; that is enough for me. I should be glad to beof service to you, but I really don't see what I can do. The bestadvice I can give you is to make a sacrifice of the rascally sharperwho gave you the forged bill, and if you can't do that I wouldcounsel you to disappear, and the sooner the better, or else you maycome to the galleys, or worse."

He got into a rage at this, and turning his back on me went out,saying I should be sorry for what I had said.

My Spaniard followed him down the stair and came back to tell me thatthe signor had gone off threatening vengeance, and that, in hisopinion, I would do well to be on my guard.

"All right," said I, "say no more about it."

All the same I was really very grateful for his advice, and I gavethe matter a good deal of thought.

I dressed myself and went to see Esther, whom I had to convince ofthe divinity of my oracle, a different task with one whose own witshad told her so much concerning my methods. This was the problem shegave me to solve,

"Your oracle must tell me something which I, and only I, know."

Feeling that it would be impossible to fulfil these conditions, Itold her that the oracle might reveal some secret she might not careto have disclosed.

"That is impossible," she answered, "as the secret will be known onlyto myself."

"But, if the oracle replies I shall know the answer as well as you,and it may be something you would not like me to know."

"There is no such thing, and, even if there were, if the oracle isnot your own brain you can always find out anything you want toknow."

"But there is some limit to the powers of the oracle."

"You are making idle excuses; either prove that I am mistaken in myideas or acknowledge that my oracle is as good as yours."

This was pushing me hard, and I was on the point of declaring myselfconquered when a bright idea struck me.

In the midst of the dimple which added such a charm to her chinEsther had a little dark mole, garnished with three or four extremelyfine hairs. These moles, which we call in Italian 'neo, nei', andwhich are usually an improvement to the prettiest face, when theyoccur on the face, the neck, the arms, or the hands, are duplicatedon the corresponding parts of the body. I concluded, therefore, thatEsther had a mole like that on her chin in a certain place which avirtuous girl does not shew; and innocent as she was I suspectedthat she herself did not know of this second mole's existence. "Ishall astonish her," I said to myself, "and establish my superiorityin a manner which will put the idea of having equal skill to mine outof her head for good." Then with the solemn and far-away look of aseer I made my pyramid and extracted these words from it,

"Fair and discreet Esther, no one knows that at the entrance of thetemple of love you have a mole precisely like that which appears onyour chin."

While I was working at my calculations, Esther was leaning over meand following every movement. As she really knew as much about thecabala as I did she did not want it to be explained to her, buttranslated the numbers into letters as I wrote them down. As soon asI had extracted all the combinations of numbers from the pyramid shesaid, quietly, that as I did not want to know the answer, she wouldbe much obliged if I would let her translate the cypher.

"With pleasure," I replied. "And I shall do so all the morewillingly as I shall thereby save your delicacy from sharing with mea secret which may or may not be agreeable. I promise you not to tryto find it out. It is enough for me to see you convinced."

"I shall be convinced when I have verified the truth of the reply."

"Are you persuaded, dearest Esther, that I have had nothing to dowith framing this answer?"

"I shall he quite sure of it if it has spoken the truth, and if sothe oracle will have conquered, for the matter is so secret a onethat even I do not know of it. You need not know yourself, as it isonly a trifle which would not interest you; but it will be enough toconvince me that the answers of your oracle are dictated by anintelligence which has nothing in common with yours."

There was so much candour and frankness in what she said that afeeling of shame replaced the desire of deceiving her, and I shedsome tears, which Esther could only interpret favourably to me.Nevertheless, they were tears of remorse, and now, as I write aftersuch a lapse of years, I still regret having deceived one so worthyof my esteem and love. Even then I reproached myself, but a pitiablefeeling of shame would not let me tell the truth; but I hated myselffor thus leading astray one whose esteem I desired to gain.

In the mean time I was not absolutely sure that I had hit the mark,for in nature, like everything else, every law has its exceptions,and I might possibly have dug a pitfall for myself. On the otherhand, if I were right, Esther would no doubt be convinced for themoment, but her belief would speedily disappear if she chanced todiscover that the correspondence of moles on the human body was anecessary law of nature. In that case I could only anticipate herscorn. But however I might tremble I had carried the deception toofar, and could not draw back.

I left Esther to call on Rigerboos, whom I thanked for his offices onmy behalf with the chief of the police. He told me that I hadnothing to fear from Piccolomini in Holland, but all the same headvised me not to go about without pistols. "I am on the eve ofembarking for Batavia," said he, "in a vessel which I have laden withthe ruins of my fortune. In the state my affairs are in I thoughtthis the best plan. I have not insured the cargo, so as not diminishmy profits, which will be considerable if I succeed. If the ship istaken or wrecked I shall take care not to survive its loss; and afterall I shall not lose much."

Poor Riberboos said all this as if he were jesting, but despair hadno doubt a good deal to do with his resolve, since it is only ingreat misery that we despise both life and fortune. The charmingTherese Trenti, whom Rigerboos always spoke of as Our Lady, hadcontributed to his ruin in no small degree. She was then in London,where, by her own account, she was doing well. She had exchanged thename of Trenti for that of Cornelis, or Cornely, which, as I foundout afterwards, was Rigerboo's real name. We spent an hour inwriting to this curious woman, as we desired to take advantage of thecircumstance that a man whom Rigerboos desired to commend to her wasshortly going to England. When we had finished we went sleighing onthe Amstel, which had been frozen over for several days. Thisdiversion, of which the Dutch are very fond, is, to my thinking, thedullest imaginable, for an objectless journey is no pleasure to me.After we were well frozen we went to eat oysters, with Sillery, towarm ourselves again, and after that we went from one casino toanother, not intending to commit any debauchery, but for want ofsomething better to do; but it seemed decreed that whenever Ipreferred any amusement of this kind to the charms of Esther'ssociety I should come to grief.

I do not know how it happened, but as we were going into one of thesecasinos Rigerboos called me loudly by my name, and at that instant awoman, such as one usually finds in these places, came forward andbegan to gaze at me. Although the room was ill enough lighted I sawit was the wretched Lucie, whom I had met a year before without herrecognizing me. I turned away, pretending not to know her, for thesight of her was disagreeable to me, but in a sad voice she called meby my name, congratulating me on my prosperity and bewailing her ownwretchedness. I saw that I could neither avoid her nor repulse herwithout inhumanity, so I called to Rigerboos to come upstairs and thegirl would divert us by recounting the history of her life.

Strictly speaking, Lucie had not become ugly; one could still seethat she had been a beautiful woman; but for all that her appearanceinspired me with terror and disgust. Since the days when I had knownher at Pasean, nineteen years of misery, profligacy, and shame hadmade her the most debased, the vilest creature that can be imagined.She told us her story at great length; the pith of it might beexpressed in six lines.

The footman who had seduced her had taken her to Trieste to lie in,and the scoundrel lived on the sale of her charms for five or sixmonths, and then a sea captain, who had taken a fancy to her, tookher to Zante with the footman, who passed for her husband.

At Zante the footman turned soldier, and deserted the army four yearsafter. She was left alone and continued living on the wages ofprostitution for six years; but the goods she had to offer loweringin value, and her customers being of the inferior kind, she set outfor England with a young Greek girl, whom an English officer ofmarines treated as his wife, and whom he abandoned in the streets ofLondon when he got tired of her. After living for two or three yearsin the vilest haunts in London, Lucie came to Holland, where, notbeing able to sell her own person any longer, she became a procuress--a natural ending to her career. Lucie was only thirty-three, butshe was the wreck of a woman, and women are always as old as theylook.

While she told her history she emptied two bottles of Burgundy I hadordered, and which neither I nor my friend touched. Finally, shetold us she was now supported by two pretty girls whom she kept, andwho had to give her the half of what they got.

Rigerboos asked her, jokingly, if the girls were at the casino.

"No," said she, "they are not here, and shall never come here, forthey are ladies of high birth, and their uncle, who looks after theirinterests, is a Venetian gentleman."

At this I could not keep back my laughter, but Lucie, without losingcountenance, told me that she could only repeat the account they hadgiven of themselves, that if we wanted to be convinced we had only togo and see them at a house she rented fifty paces off, and that weneed not be afraid of being disturbed if we went, as their unclelived in a different part of the town.

"Oh, indeed!" said I, "he does not live with his highborn nieces,then?"

"No, he only comes to dinner to hear how business has been going, andto take all the money from them."

"Come along," said Rigerboos, "we will go and see them."

As I was desirous of seeing and addressing the noble Venetian ladiesof so honourable a profession, I told Lucie to take us to the house.I knew very well that the girls were impostors, and their gentleman-uncle a blackguard; but the die was cast.

We found them to be young and pretty. Lucie introduced me as aVenetian, and they were beside themselves with joy to have someone towhom they could talk. I found out directly that they came fromPadua, not Venice, as they spoke the Paduan dialect, which I knewvery well. I told them so, and they confessed it was the truth. Iasked the name of their uncle, but they said they could not tell me.

"We can get on without knowing," said Rigerboos, catching hold of theone he liked best. Lucie brought in some ham, oysters, a pie, and agood many bottles of wine, and then left us.

I was not in the humour for wantonness, but Rigerboos was disposed tobe merry; his sweetheart was at first inclined to be prudish on histaking liberties with her, but as I began to follow his example theladies relaxed their severity; we went first to one and then theother, and before long they were both in the state of Eve before sheused the fig-leaf.

After passing an hour in these lascivious combats we gave each of thegirls four ducats, paid for the provisions we had consumed, and sentsix Louis to Lucie. We then left them, I going to bed cross withmyself for having engaged in such brutal pleasures.

Next morning I awoke late and in a bad humour, partly from thedebauch of the night before (for profligacy depresses as well asdegrades the mind) and partly from the thought that I had neglectedEsther, who had unquestionably been grieved by my absence. I feltthat I must hasten to reassure her, feeling certain that I shouldfind some excuses to make, and that they would be well received. Irang for Le Duc, put on my dressing-gown, and sent him for my coffee.He had scarcely left the room when the door opened and I saw Perineand the fellow named Wiedan, whom I had seen at Piccolomini's, andwho styled himself a friend of St. Germain. I was sitting on my bed,putting on my stockings. My apartments consisted of three finerooms, but they were at the back of the house, and all the noise Icould have made would not have been heard. The bell was on the otherside of the room; Le Duc would be gone fully ten minutes, and I wasin imminent danger of being assassinated without the possibility ofself-defence.

The above thoughts flashed through my head with lightning speed, andall that I could do was to keep calm and say,

"Well, gentlemen, what can I do for you?" Wiedan took upon himself toanswer me.

"Count Piccolomini has found himself forced to declare that hereceived the forged bill from us, in order that he may escape fromthe difficult position in which your denunciation placed him. He haswarned us that he is going to do so, and we must escape forthwith ifwe want to avoid prosecution. We have not a penny; we are desperatemen."

"Well, gentlemen, what have I to do with that?"

"Give us four hundred florins immediately; we do not want more, butwe must have that much, and now. If you refuse we will take toflight with everything of yours that we can lay our hands on; and ourarguments are these."

With this, each man drew a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at myhead.

"You need not have recourse to violence," said I, "it can only befatal to you. Stay, here are a hundred ducats more than you asked.Begone, and I wish you a pleasant journey, but I would not be herewhen my servant comes back if I were you."

Wiedan took the roll of money with a trembling hand and put it in hispocket without examining it; but Perine came up, and praising mynoble generosity, would have put his arms around my neck and kissedme. I repulsed him, but without rudeness, and they went their ways,leaving me very glad to have rid myself of them at so cheap a rate.

As soon as I was out of this snare I rang my bell, not to have themfollowed but that I might get dressed as quickly as possible. I didnot say a word to Le Duc about what had happened, I was silent evento my landlord; and, after I had sent my Spaniard to M. d'O to excusemy dining there that day, I went to the chief of police, but had towait two hours before I could see him. As soon as the worthy man hadheard my account of my misfortune he said he would do his best tocatch the two rascals, but he did not conceal from me his fears thatit was already too late.

I took the opportunity of telling him of Piccolomini's visit to me,his claims and threats. He thanked me for doing so, and promised tosee to it; but he advised me for the future to be on my guard andready to defend myself in case I was attacked before he could placemy enemies in a place where they could do me no harm.

I hastened home again, as I felt ill. An acid taste in my mouthskewed me how all these shocks had upset me; but I knew what to do.I took a strong glass of lemonade, which made me bring up a good dealof bile, and I then felt much better.

Towards evening I went to see Esther, and found her looking seriousand rather vexed; but as soon as she saw how pale I was her facelighted up, and she asked me, in a voice of tenderest interest, if Ihad been ill. I told her I had been out of sorts, that I had takensome medicine, and that I now felt better.

"You will see my appetite at supper," added I, to calm her fears, "Ihave had nothing to eat since dinner yesterday."

This was really the truth, as I had only eaten a few oysters with thePaduan girls.

She could scarcely contain her joy at my recovery, and bade me kissher, with which request I complied gladly, all unworthy though I feltof so great a favour.

"I am going to tell you an important piece of news," said she, "andthat is that I am sure that you do not invent the answers to youroracle, or at least that you only do so when you choose. The replyyou procured me was wonderful-nay, divine, for it told me of a secretunknown to all, even to myself. You may imagine my surprise when Iconvinced myself, with no little trouble of the truth of the answer.

"You possess a treasure, your oracle is infallible; but surely it cannever lie, and my oracle tells me that you love me. It makes me gladto know that, for you are the man of my heart. But I want you togive me an exemplary proof of your love, and if you do love me youwill not hesitate to do so. Stay, read the reply you got me; I amsure you do not know what it says; then I will tell you how you canmake me quite happy."

I pretended to read, and kissed the words which declared I loved her."I am delighted," said I, "that the oracle has convinced you soeasily, but I must be excused if I say that I believe you knew asmuch long ago." She replied, blushing, that if it were possible tochew me the object in question I should not wonder at her ignorance.Then, coming to the proof of my love, she told me that she wanted meto communicate the secret to her. "You love me," said she, "and youought to make no difficulty in assuring the bliss of a girl who willbe your wife, and in your power. My father will agree to ourmarriage, and when I become your wife I will do whatever you please.We will even go and live in another country if that would add to yourhappiness. But you must teach me how to obtain the answer to anyquestion without inventing it myself."

I took Esther's hands in mine; she inspired me with the tenderestfeelings, and I kissed her hands with respectful fervour, saying,"You know, Esther, dear, that my word is passed at Paris. Certainly,Manon is not to be compared to you; but for all that I gave mypromise to her poor mother, and I must keep it."

A sigh escaped from Esther, and her head fell upon her breast: butwhat could I do? I could not teach her any other way of consultingthe oracle than the method she understood as well as I: mysuperiority over her only consisting in my greater craft and moreextensive experience.

Early one morning, two or three days later, a man was announced aswanting to see me. He called himself an officer, but his name wasperfectly unknown to me. I sent down to say that I could not seehim, and as soon as my Spaniard went out I locked my door. What hadhappened already had made me suspicious, and I did not care to seeany more gentlemen alone. The two scoundrels who had robbed me hadeluded all the snares of the police, and Piccolomini was not to befound; but I knew a good many of the gang were still in Amsterdam,and I thought it well to be on my guard.

Some time after, Le Duc came in with a letter written in bad Italian,saying that it had been given him by an officer who was waiting foran answer. I opened it, and recognized the name I had heard a shortwhile ago. The writer said we knew each other, but that he couldonly give his true name with his own lips, and that he had importantinformation to give me.

I told Le Duc to shew him in, and to stay by the door. I saw enter awell-made man of about forty, dressed in the uniform of an officer ofI do not know what army, and bearing on his countenance all the marksof an escaped gallows'-bird.

"What can I do for you, sir?" said I, as soon as he entered.

"Sir, we knew each other at Cerigo, sixteen or seventeen years ago,and I am delighted to have an opportunity of renewing theacquaintance."

I knew that I had spent but a few minutes at Cerigo, on my way toConstantinople, and concluded that my visitor must be one of theunfortunate wretches to whom I gave alms.

"Are you the man," I said, "who told me that you were the son of aCount Peccini, of Padua, although there is no such count in Padua atall?"

"My servant does not understand Italian, so you can speak out;however, if you like, I will send him away."

I ordered Le Duc to stay in the ante-chamber, and when he had leftthe room my Paduan count told me that I had been with his nieces, andhad treated them as if they were courtezans, and that he was come todemand satisfaction.

I was tired of being cheated, and I took hold of my pistols andpointed them at him, bidding him be gone instantly. Le Duc came inand the third robber took himself off, muttering that "a time wouldcome."

I was placed in a disagreeable position; if I wanted to prosecute, Ishould have to tell the whole story to the police. I thought of myhonour and determined to be silent, and the only person to whom Imentioned the matter was Rigerboos, who not being in the sameposition as myself took his measures, the result of which was thatLucie had to send her high-born dames about their business. But thewretched woman came to me to say that this misfortune had plunged herinto the deepest distress, so I made her a present of a few ducats,and she went away somewhat consoled. I begged her not to call on meagain.

Everything I did when I was away from Esther seemed to turn out ill,and I felt that if I wanted to be happy I should do well to keep nearher; but my destiny, or rather my inconstancy, drew me away.

Three days afterwards, the villainous Major Sabi called on me to warnme to be on my guard, as, according to his account, a Venetianofficer I had insulted and refused to give satisfaction to had vowedvengeance against me.

"Then," said I, "I shall have him arrested as an escaped galleyslave, in which character I have given him alms, and for wearingwithout the right to do so the uniform of an officer, therebydisgracing the whole army. And pray what outrage can I havecommitted against girls who live in a brothel, and whom I have paidaccording to their deserts?"

"If what you say is true you are quite right, but this poor devil isin a desperate situation; he wants to leave the country, and does notpossess a single florin. I advise you to give him an alms once more,and you will have done with him. Two score florins will not make youany the poorer, and will rid you of a villainous enemy."

"A most villainous one, I think." At last I agreed to give him theforty florins, and I handed them to him in a coffee-house where themajor told me I should find him. The reader will see how I met thisblackguard four months later.

Now, when all these troubles have been long over and I can think overthem calmly, reflecting on the annoyances I experienced at Amsterdam,where I might have been so happy, I am forced to admit that weourselves are the authors of almost all our woes and griefs, of whichwe so unreasonably complain. If I could live my life over again,should I be wiser? Perhaps; but then I should not be myself.

M. d'O---- asked me to sup with him at the Burgomasters' Lodge, andthis was a great distinction, for, contrary to the rules ofFreemasonry, no one but the twenty-four members who compose the lodgeis admitted, and these twenty-four masons were the richest men on theExchange.

"I have told them that you are coming," said M. d'O----, "and towelcome you more honourably the lodge will be opened in French." Inshort, these gentlemen gave me the most distinguished reception, andI had the fortune to make myself so agreeable to them that I wasunanimously chosen an honorary member during the time I should stayat Amsterdam. As we were going away, M. d'O---- told me that I hadsupped with a company which represented a capital of three hundredmillions.

Next day the worthy Dutchman begged me to oblige him by answering aquestion to which his daughter's oracle had replied in a very obscuremanner. Esther encouraged me, and I asked what the question was. Itran as follows:

"I wish to know whether the individual who desires me and my companyto transact a matter of the greatest importance is really a friend ofthe King of France?"

It was not difficult for me to divine that the Comte de St. Germainwas meant. M. d'O was not aware that I knew him, and I had notforgotten what M. d'Afri had told me.

I set to work, and after erecting my pyramid and placing above thefour keys the letters O, S, A, D, the better to impose on Esther, Iextracted the reply, beginning with the fourth key, D. The oracleran as follows:

"The friend disavows. The order is signed. They grant. Theyrefuse. All vanishes. Delay."

I pretended to think the reply a very obscure one, but Esther gave acry of astonishment and declared that it gave a lot of information inan extraordinary style. M. d'O----, in an ecstasy of delight,exclaimed,

"The reply is clear enough for me. The oracle is divine; the word'delay' is addressed to me. You and my daughter are clever enough inmaking the oracle speak, but I am more skilled than you in theinterpretation thereof. I shall prevent the thing going any further.The project is no less a one than to lend a hundred millions, takingin pledge the diamonds of the French crown. The king wishes the loanto be concluded without the interference of his ministers and withouttheir even knowing anything about it. I entreat you not to mentionthe matter to anyone."

He then went out.

"Now," said Esther, when we were by ourselves, "I am quite sure thatthat reply came from another intelligence than yours. In the name ofall you hold sacred, tell me the meaning of those four letters, andwhy you usually omit them."

"I omit them, dearest Esther, because experience has taught me thatin ordinary cases they are unnecessary; but while I was making thepyramid the command came to me to set them down, and I thought itwell to obey."

"What do they mean?"

"They are the initial letters of the holy names of the cardinalintelligences of the four quarters of the world."

"I may not tell you, but whoever deals with the oracle should knowthem."

"Ah! do not deceive me; I trust in you, and it would be worse thanmurder to abuse so simple a faith as mine."

"I am not deceiving you, dearest Esther."

"But if you were to teach me the cabala, you would impart to me theseholy names?"

"Certainly, but I cannot reveal them except to my successor. If Iviolate this command I should lose my knowledge; and this conditionis well calculated to insure secrecy, is it not?"

"But you should fix on someone, for you are mortal after all. If youlike, my father would give you the half of his immense fortunewithout your marrying me."

"Esther! what is it that you have said? Do you think that topossess you would be a disagreeable condition in my eyes?"

After a happy day--I think I may call it the happiest of my life--Ileft the too charming Esther, and went home towards the evening.

Three or four days after, M. d'O---- came into Esther's room, wherehe found us both calculating pyramids. I was teaching her to double,to triple, and to quadruple the cabalistic combinations. M. d'O----strode into the room in a great hurry, striking his breast in a sortof ecstasy. We were surprised and almost frightened to see him sostrangely excited, and rose to meet him, but he running up to usalmost forced us to embrace him, which we did willingly.

"But what is the matter, papa dear?" said Esther, "you surprise memore than I can say."

"Sit down beside me, my dear children, and listen to your father andyour best friend. I have just received a letter from one of thesecretaries of their high mightinesses informing me that the Frenchambassador has demanded, in the name of the king his master, that theComte St. Germain should be delivered over, and that the Dutchauthorities have answered that His Most Christian Majesty's requestsshall be carried out as soon as the person of the count can besecured. In consequence of this the police, knowing that the ComteSt. Germain was staying at the Etoile d'Orient, sent to arrest him atmidnight, but the bird had flown. The landlord declared that thecount had posted off at nightfall, taking the way to Nimeguen. Hehas been followed, but there are small hopes of catching him up.

"It is not known how he can have discovered that a warrant existedagainst him, or how he continued to evade arrest."

"It is not known;" went an M. d'O----, laughing, "but everyoneguesses that M. Calcoen, the same that wrote to me, let this friendof the French king's know that he would be wanted at midnight, andthat if he did not get the key of the fields he would be arrested.He is not so foolish as to despise a piece of advice like that. TheDutch Government has expressed its sorrow to M. d'Afri that hisexcellence did not demand the arrest of St. Germain sooner, and theambassador will not be astonished at this reply, as it is like manyothers given on similar occasions.

"The wisdom of the oracle has been verified, and I congratulatemyself on having seized its meaning, for we were on the point ofgiving him a hundred thousand florins on account, which he said hemust have immediately. He gave us in pledge the finest of the crowndiamonds, and this we still retain. But we will return it to him andemand, unless it is claimed by the ambassador. I have never seen afiner stone.

"And now, my children, you see what I owe to the oracle. On theExchange the whole company can do nothing but express their gratitudeto me. I am regarded as the most prudent and most farseeing man inHolland. To you, my dear children, I owe this honour, but I wear mypeacock's feathers without scruple.

"My dear Casanova, you will dine with us, I hope. After dinner Ishall beg you to enquire of your inscrutable intelligence whether weought to declare ourselves in possession of the splendid diamond, orto observe secrecy till it is reclaimed."

After this discourse papa embraced us once more and left us.

"Sweetheart," said Esther, throwing her arms round my neck, "you havean opportunity for giving me a strong proof of your friendship. Itwill cost you nothing, but it will cover me with honour andhappiness."

"Command me, and it shall be done. You cannot think that I wouldrefuse you a favour which is to cost me nothing, when I should deemmyself happy to shed my blood for your sake."

"My father wishes you to tell him after dinner whether it will bebetter to declare that they have the diamond or to keep silence tillit is claimed. When he asks you a second time, tell him to seek theanswer of me, and offer to consult the oracle also, in case my answermay be too obscure. Then perform the operation, and I will make myfather love me all the better, when he sees that my knowledge isequal to yours."

"Dearest one, would I not do for thee a task a thousand times moredifficult than this to prove my love and my devotion? Let us set towork. Do you write the question, set up the pyramids, and inscribewith your own hand the all-powerful initials. Good. Now begin toextract the answer by means of the divine key. Never was a clevererpupil!"

When all this had been done, I suggested the additions andsubtractions I wanted made, and she was quite astonished to read thefollowing reply: "Silence necessary. Without silence, generalderision. Diamond valueless; mere paste."

I thought she would have gone wild with delight. She laughed andlaughed again.

"What an amazing reply!" said she. "The diamond is false, and it isI who am about to reveal their folly to them. I shall inform myfather of this important secret. It is too much, it overwhelms me; Ican scarcely contain myself for joy! How much I owe you, youwonderful and delightful man! They will verify the truth of theoracle immediately, and when it is found that the famous diamond isbut glittering paste the company will adore my father, for it willfeel that but for him it would have been covered with shame, byavowing itself the dupe of a sharper. Will you leave the pyramidwith me?"

"Certainly; but it will not teach you anything you do not know." Thefather came in again and we had dinner, and after the dessert, whenthe worthy d 'O---- learnt from his daughter's oracle that the stonewas false, the scene became a truly comical one. He burst intoexclamations of astonishment, declared the thing impossible,incredible, and at last begged me to ask the same question, as he wasquite sure that his daughter was mistaken, or rather that the oraclewas deluding her.

I set to work, and was not long in obtaining my answer. When he sawthat it was to the same effect as Esther's, though differentlyexpressed, he had no longer any doubts as to his daughter's skill,and hastened to go and test the pretended diamond, and to advise hisassociates to say nothing about the matter after they had receivedproofs of the worthlessness of the stone. This advice was, as ithappened, useless; for though the persons concerned said nothing,everybody knew about it, and people said, with their usual malice,that the dupes had been duped most thoroughly, and that St. Germainhad pocketed the hundred thousand florins; but this was not the case.

Esther was very proud of her success, but instead of being satisfiedwith what she had done, she desired more fervently every day topossess the science in its entirety, as she supposed I possessed it.

It soon became known that St. Germain had gone by Emden and hadembarked for England, where he had arrived in safety. In due time weshall hear some further details concerning this celebrated impostor;and in the meanwhile I must relate a catastrophe of another kind,which was near to have made me die the death of a fool.

It was Christmas Day. I had got up early in the morning in betterspirits than usual. The old women tell you that always presagesmisfortune, but I was as far then as I am now from making myhappiness into an omen of grief. But this time chance made thefoolish belief of good effect. I received a letter and a largepacket from Paris; they came from Manon. I opened the letter and Ithought I should have died of grief when I read,--

"Be wise, and receive the news I give you calmly. The packetcontains your portrait and all the letters you have written to me.Return me my portrait, and if you have kept my letters be kind enoughto burn them. I rely on your honour. Think of me no more. Dutybids me do all I can to forget you, for at this hour to-morrow Ishall become the wife of M. Blondel of the Royal Academy, architectto the king. Please do not seem as if you knew me if we chance tomeet on your return to Paris."

This letter struck me dumb with astonishment, and for more than twohours after I read it I was, as it were, bereft of my senses. I sentword to M. d'O---- that, not feeling well, I was going to keep myroom all day. When I felt a little better I opened the packet. Thefirst thing to fall out was my portrait. I looked at it, and suchwas the perturbation of my mind, that, though the miniature reallyrepresented me as of a cheerful and animated expression, I thought Ibeheld a dreadful and a threatening visage. I went to my desk andwrote and tore up a score of letters in which I overwhelmed thefaithless one with threats and reproaches.

I could bear no more; the forces of nature were exhausted, and I wasobliged to lie down and take a little broth, and court that sleepwhich refused to come. A thousand designs came to my disorderedimagination. I rejected them one by one, only to devise new ones. Iwould slay this Blondel, who had carried off a woman who was mine andmine only; who was all but my wife. Her treachery should be punishedby her losing the object for whom she had deserted me. I accused herfather, I cursed her brother for having left me in ignorance of theinsult which had so traitorously been put upon me.

I spent the day and night in these delirious thoughts, and in themorning, feeling worse than ever, I sent to M. d'O---- to say that Icould not possibly leave my room. Then I began to read and re-readthe letters I had written to Manon, calling upon her name in a sortof frenzy; and again set myself to write to her without finishing asingle letter. The emptiness of my stomach and the shock I hadundergone began to stupefy me, and for a few moments I forgot myanguish only to re-awaken to acuter pains soon after.

About three o'clock, the worthy M. d'O---- came to invite me to gowith him to the Hague, where the chief masons of Holland met on theday following to keep the Feast of St. John, but when he saw mycondition he did not press me to come.

"What is the matter with you, my dear Casanova?" said he.

"I have had a great grief, but let us say no more about it."

He begged me to come and see Esther, and left me looking almost asdowncast as I was. However, the next morning Esther anticipated myvisit, for at nine o'clock she and her governess came into the room.The sight of her did me good. She was astonished to see me so undoneand cast down, and asked me what was the grief of which I had spokento her father, and which had proved too strong for my philosophy.

"Sit down beside me, Esther dear, and allow me to make a mystery ofwhat has affected me so grievously. Time, the mighty healer, andstill more your company, will effect a cure which I should in vainseek by appealing to my reason. Whilst we talk of other things Ishall not feel the misfortune which gnaws at my heart."

"Well, get up, dress yourself, and come and spend the day with me,and I will do my best to make you forget your sorrow."

"I feel very weak; for the last three days I have only taken a littlebroth and chocolate."

At these words her face fell, and she began to weep.

After a moment's silence she went to my desk, took a pen, and wrote afew lines, which she brought to me. They were,--

"Dear, if a large sum of money, beyond what my father owes you, canremove or even soothe your grief I can be your doctor, and you oughtto know that your accepting my treatment would make me happy."

I took her hands and kissed them affectionately, saying,--

"No, dear Esther, generous Esther, it is not money I want, for if Idid I would ask you and your father as a friend: what I want, andwhat no one can give me, is a resolute mind, and determination to actfor the best."

"Ask advice of your oracle."

I could not help laughing.

"Why do you laugh?" said she, "if I am not mistaken, the oracle mustknow a remedy for your woes."

"I laughed, dearest, because I felt inclined to tell you to consultthe oracle this time. As for me I will have nothing to do with it,lest the cure be worse than the disease."

"But you need not follow your advice unless you like it."

"No, one is free to act as one thinks fit; but not to follow theadvice of the oracle would be a contempt of the intelligence whichdirects it."

Esther could say no more, and stood silent for several minutes, andthen said that if I like she would stay with me for the rest of theday. The joy which illumined my countenance was manifest, and I saidthat if she would stay to dinner I would get up, and no doubt herpresence would give me an appetite. "Ah!" said she, "I will make youthe dish you are so fond of." She ordered the sedan-chairs to besent back, and went to my landlady to order an appetising repast, andto procure the chafing-dish and the spirits of wine she required forher own cooking.

Esther was an angel, a treasure, who consented to become mine if Iwould communicate to her a science which did not exist. I felt thatI was looking forward to spending a happy day; this shewed me that Icould forget Manon, and I was delighted with the idea. I got out ofbed, and when Esther came back and found me on my feet she gave askip of pleasure. "Now," said she, "you must oblige me by dressing,and doing your hair as if you were going to a ball."

"That," I answered, "is a funny idea, but as it pleases you itpleases me."

I rang for Le Duc, and told him I wanted to have my hair done, and tobe dressed as if I were going to a ball. "Choose the dress thatsuits me best."

"No," said Esther, "I will choose it myself."

Le Duc opened my trunk, and leaving her to rummage in it he came toshave me, and to do my hair. Esther, delighted with her task, calledin the assistance of her governess. She put on my bed a lace shirt,and the suit she found most to her taste. Then coming close, as ifto see whether Le Duc was dressing my hair properly, she said,

"A little broth would do you good; send for a dish, it will give youan appetite for dinner."

I thought her advice dictated by the tenderest care, and I determinedto benefit by it. So great was the influence of this charming girlover me, that, little by little, instead of loving Manon, I hatedher. That gave me courage, and completed my cure. At the presenttime I can see that Manon was very wise in accepting Blondel's offer,and that my love for self and not my love for her was wounded.

I was in my servant's hands, my face turned away towards the fire, sothat I could not see Esther, but only divert myself with the ideathat she was inspecting my belongings, when all at once she presentedherself with a melancholy air, holding Mamon's fatal letter in herhand.

"Am I to blame," said she, timidly, "for having discovered the causeof your sorrow?"

I felt rather taken aback, but looking kindly at her, I said,

"No, no, my dear Esther; pity your friend, and say no more about it."

"Then I may read all the letters?"

"Yes, dearest, if it will amuse you."

All the letters of the faithless Manon Baletti to me, with mine toher, were together on my table. I pointed them out to Esther, whobegun to read them quite eagerly.

When I was dressed, as if for some Court holiday, Le Duc went out andleft us by ourselves, for the worthy governess, who was working ather lace by the window, looked at her lace, and nothing else. Esthersaid that nothing had ever amused her so much as those letters.

"Those cursed epistles, which please you so well, will be the deathof me."

"Death? Oh, no! I will cure you, I hope."

"I hope so, too; but after dinner you must help me to burn them allfrom first to last."

"Burn them! No; make me a present of them. I promise to keep themcarefully all my days."

"They are yours, Esther. I will send them to you to-morrow."

These letters were more than two hundred in number, and the shortestwere four pages in length. She was enchanted to find herself thepossessor of the letters, and she said she would make them into aparcel and take them away herself.

"Shall you send back the portrait to your faithless mistress?" saidshe.

"I don't know what to do with it."

"Send it back to her; she is not worthy of your honouring her bykeeping it. I am sure that your oracle would give you the sameadvice. Where is the portrait? Will you shew it me?"

I had the portrait in the interior of a gold snuff-box, but I hadnever shewn it to Esther for fear she should think Manon handsomerthan herself, and conclude that I only shewd it her out of vanity;but as she now asked to see it I opened the box where it was and gaveit her.

Any other woman besides Esther would have pronounced Manon downrightugly, or have endeavored at the least to find some fault with her,but Esther pronounced her to be very beautiful, and only said it wasa great pity so fair a body contained so vile a soul.

The sight of Manon's portrait made Esther ask to see all the otherportraits which Madame Manzoni had sent me from Venice. There werenaked figures amongst them, but Esther was too pure a spirit to puton the hateful affectations of the prude, to whom everything naturalis an abomination. O-Murphy pleased her very much, and her history,which I related, struck her as very curious. The portrait of thefair nun, M----M----, first in the habit of her order and afterwardsnaked, made her laugh, but I would not tell Esther her story, inspite of the lively desire she displayed to hear it.

At dinner-time a delicate repast was brought to us, and we spent twodelightful hours in the pleasures of a conversation and the table.I seemed to have passed from death to life, and Esther was delightedto have been my physician. Before we rose from table I had declaredmy intention of sending Manon's portrait to her husband on the dayfollowing, but her good nature found a way of dissuading me fromdoing so without much difficulty.

Some time after, while we were talking in front of the fire, she tooka piece of paper, set up the pyramids, and inscribed the four keys O,S, A, D. She asked if I should send the portrait to the husband, orwhether it would not be more generous to return it to the faithlessManon. Whilst she was calculating she said over and over again, witha smile, "I have not made up the answer." I pretend to believe her,and we laughed like two augurs meeting each other alone. At last thereply came that I ought to return the portrait, but to the giver,since to send it to the husband would be an act unworthy of a man ofhonour.

I praised the wisdom of the oracle, and kissed the Pythoness a scoreof times, promising that the cabala should be obeyed implicitly,adding that she had no need of being taught the science since sheknew it as well as the inventor.

I spoke the truth, but Esther laughed, and, fearing lest I shouldreally think so, took pains to assure me of the contrary.

It is thus that love takes his pleasure, thus his growth increases,and thus that he so soon becomes a giant in strength.

"Shall I be impertinent," said Esther, "if I ask you where yourportrait is? Manon says in her letter that she is sending it back;but I don't see it anywhere."

"In my first paroxysm of rage, I threw it down; I don't know in whatdirection. What was thus despised by her cannot be of much value tome."

"Let us look for it; I should like to see it."

We soon found it on my table, in the midst of a of books; Esther saidit was a speaking likeness.

"I would give it you if such a present were worthy of you."

"Ah! you could not give me anything I would value more."

"Will you deign to accept it, Esther, though it has been possessed byanother?"

"It will be all the dearer to me."

At last she had to leave me, after a day which might be calleddelightful if happiness consists of calm and mutual joys without thetumultuous raptures of passion. She went away at ten, after I hadpromised to spend the whole of the next day with her.

After an unbroken sleep of nine hours' duration I got up refreshedand feeling once more in perfect health, and I went to see Estherimmediately. I found she was still abed and asleep, but hergoverness went and roused her in spite of my request that her reposeshould be respected.

She received me with a sweet smile as she sat up in bed, and shewd memy voluminous correspondence with Manon on her night-table, sayingthat she had been reading it till two o'clock in the morning.

Her appearance was ravishing. A pretty cambric night-cap, tied witha light-blue ribbon and ornamented with lace, set off the beauties ofher face; and a light shawl of Indian muslin, which she had hastilythrown on, veiled rather than concealed her snowy breast, which wouldhave shamed the works of Praxiteles. She allowed me to take ahundred kisses on her rosy lips--ardent kisses which the sight ofsuch charms made yet more ardent; but her hands forbade my approachto those two spheres I so longed to touch.

I sat down by her and told her that her charms of body and mind wouldmake a man forget all the Manons that ever were.

"Is your Marion fair to see all over?" said she.

"I really can't say, for, not being her husband, I never had anopportunity of investigating the matter."

"Your discretion is worthy of all praise," she said, with a smile,"such conduct becomes a man of delicate feeling."

"I was told by her nurse that she was perfect in all respects, andthat no mote or blemish relieved the pure whiteness of her skin."

"You must have a different notion of me?"

"Yes, Esther, as the oracle revealed to me the great secret youdesired to know. Nevertheless, I should find you perfect in all yourparts."

Hereupon I was guilty of a stupidity which turned to my confusion. Isaid,

"If I became your husband, I could easily refrain from touching youthere."

"I suppose you think," said she, blushing, and evidently a littlevexed, "that if you touched it your desires might be lessened?"

This question probed me to the core and covered me with shame. Iburst into tears, and begged her pardon in so truly repentant a voicethat sympathy made her mingle her tears with mine. The incident onlyincreased our intimacy, for, as I kissed her tears away, the samedesires consumed us, and if the voice of prudence had not intervened,doubtless all would have been over. As it was, we had but aforetaste and an earnest of that bliss which it was in our power toprocure. Three hours seemed to us as many minutes. She begged me togo into her sitting-room while she dressed, and we then went down anddined with the wretched secretary, who adored her, whom she did notlove, and who must have borne small love to me, seeing how high Istood in her graces.

We passed the rest of the day together in that confidential talkwhich is usual when the foundations of the most intimate friendshiphave been laid between two persons of opposite sex, who believethemselves created for each other. Our flames burnt as brightly, butwith more restraint, in the dining-room as in the bedroom. In thevery air of the bedroom of a woman one loves there is something sobalmy and voluptuous that the lover, asked to choose between thisgarden of delights and Paradise, would not for one moment hesitate inhis choice.

We parted with hearts full of happiness, saying to each other, "Tillto-morrow."

I was truly in love with Esther, for my sentiment for her wascomposed of sweeter, calmer, and more lively feelings than meresensual love, which is ever stormy and violent. I felt sure I couldpersuade her to marry me without my first teaching her what could notbe taught. I was sorry I had not let her think herself as clever asmyself in the cabala, and I feared it would be impossible toundeceive her without exciting her to anger, which would cast outlove. Nevertheless, Esther was the only woman who would make meforget Manon, whom I began to think unworthy of all I had proposeddoing for her.

M. d'O---- came back and I went to dine with him. He was pleased tohear that his daughter had effected a complete cure by spending a daywith me. When we were alone he told me that he had heard at theHague that the Comte St. Germain had the art of making diamonds whichonly differed from the real ones in weight, and which, according tohim, would make his fortune. M. d'O---- would have been amused if Ihad told him all I knew about this charlatan.

Next day I took Esther to the concert, and while we were there shetold me that on the day following she would not leave her room, sothat we could talk about getting married without fear ofinterruption. This was the last day of the year 1759.

CHAPTER XI

I Undeceive Esther--I set out for Germany--Adventure Near Cologne--The Burgomaster's Wife; My Conquest of Her--Ball at Bonn--WelcomeFrom the Elector of Cologne--Breakfast at Bruhl--First Intimacy--I sup Without Being Asked at General Kettler's I am Happy--I LeaveCologne--The Toscani The Jewel My Arrival at Stuttgart

The appointment which Esther had made with me would probably haveserious results; and I felt it due to my honour not to deceive herany longer, even were it to cost me my happiness; however, I had somehope that all would turn out well.

I found her in bed, and she told me that she intended to stop therethroughout the day. I approved, for in bed I thought her ravishing.

"We will set to work," said she; and her governess set a little tableby her bed, and she gave me a piece of paper covered with questionstending to convince me that before I married her I should communicateto her my supposed science. All these questions were artfullyconceived, all were so worded as to force the oracle to order me tosatisfy her, or to definitely forbid my doing so. I saw the snare,and all my thoughts were how to avoid it, though I pretended to bemerely considering the questions. I could not make the oracle speakto please Esther, and I could still less make it pronounce a positiveprohibition, as I feared that she would resent such an answerbitterly and revenge herself on me. Nevertheless, I had to assume anindifferent air, and I got myself out of the difficulty by equivocalanswers, till the good-humoured papa came to summon me to dinner.

He allowed his daughter to stay in bed on the condition that she wasto do no more work, as he was afraid that by applying herself sointently she would increase her headache. She promised, much to mydelight, that he should be obeyed, but on my return from dinner Ifound her asleep, and sitting at her bedside I let her sleep on.

When she awoke she said she would like to read a little; and as if byinspiration, I chanced to take up Coiardeau's 'Heroides', and weinflamed each other by reading the letters of Heloise and Abelard.The ardours thus aroused passed into our talk and we began to discussthe secret which the oracle had revealed.

"But, Esther dear," said I, "did not the oracle reveal a circumstanceof which you knew perfectly well before?"

"No, sweetheart, the secret was perfectly unknown to me and wouldhave continued unknown."

"Then you have never been curious enough to inspect your own person?"

"However curious I may have been, nature placed that mole in such aposition as to escape any but the most minute search."

"You have never felt it, then?"

"It is too small to be felt."

"I don't believe it."

She allowed my hand to wander indiscreetly, and my happy fingers feltall the precincts of the temple of love. This was enough to fire thechastest disposition. I could not find the object of my research,and, not wishing to stop short at so vain an enjoyment, I was allowedto convince myself with my eyes that it actually existed. There,however, her concessions stopped short, and I had to content myselfby kissing again and again all those parts which modesty no longerdenied to my gaze.

Satiated with bliss, though I had not attained to the utmost ofenjoyment, which she wisely denied me, after two hours had beendevoted to those pastimes which lead to nothing, I resolved to tellher the whole truth and to shew her how I had abused her trust in me,though I feared that her anger would be roused.

Esther, who had a large share of intelligence (indeed if she had hadless I could not have deceived her so well), listened to me withoutinterrupting me and without any signs of anger or astonishment. Atlast, when I had brought my long and sincere confession to an end,she said,

"I know your love for me is as great as mine for you; and if I amcertain that what you have just said cannot possibly be true, I amforced to conclude that if you do not communicate to me all thesecrets of your science it is because to do so is not in your power.Let us love one another till death, and say no more about thismatter."

After a moment's silence, she went on,--

"If love has taken away from you the courage of sincerity I forgiveyou, but I am sorry for you. You have given me too positive proof ofthe reality of your science to be able to shake my belief. You couldnever have found out a thing of which I myself was ignorant, and ofwhich no mortal man could know."

"And if I shew you, Esther dear, that I knew you had this mole, thatI had good reasons for supposing you to be ignorant of it, will yourbelief be shaken then?" "You knew it? How could you have seen it?It's incredible!"

"I will tell you all."

I then explained to her the theory of the correspondence of moles onthe various parts of the human body, and to convince her I ended bysaying that her governess who had a large mark on her right cheekought to have one very like it on her left thigh. At this she burstinto laughter, and said, "I will find out, but after all you havetold me I can only admire you the more for knowing what no one elsedoes."

"Do you really think, Esther, that I am the sole possessor of thisscience? Undeceive yourself. All who have studied anatomy,physiology, and astrology, know of it."

"Then I beg you to get me, by to-morrow--yes, tomorrow--all the bookswhich will teach me secrets of that nature. I long to be able toastonish the ignorant with my cabala, which I see requires a mixtureof knowledge and imposition. I wish to devote myself entirely tothis study. We can love each other to the death, but we can do thatwithout getting married."

I re-entered my lodging in a peaceful and happy frame of mind; anenormous weight seemed taken off my spirits. Next morning Ipurchased such volumes as I judged would instruct and amuse her atthe same time, and went to present them to her. She was most pleasedwith my Conis, as she found in it the character of truth. As shewished to shine by her answers through the oracle it was necessaryfor her to have an extensive knowledge of science, and I put her onthe way.

About that time I conceived the idea of making a short tour inGermany before returning to Paris, and Esther encouraged me to do so,after I had promised that she should see me again before the end ofthe year. This promise was sincerely, given; and though from thatday to this I have not beheld the face of that charming andremarkable woman, I cannot reproach myself with having deceived herwilfully, for subsequent events prevented me from keeping my word.

I wrote to M. d'Afri requesting him to procure me a passport throughthe empire, where the French and other belligerent powers were thencampaigning. He answered very politely that I had no need of apassport, but that if I wished to have one he would send it meforthwith. I was content with this letter and put it among mypapers, and at Cologne it got me a better reception than all thepassports in the world.

I made M. d'O---- the depositary of the various moneys I had indifferent banking houses, and the worthy man, who was a true friendto me, gave me a bill of exchange on a dozen of the chief houses inGermany.

When my affairs were all in order I started in my post-chaise, withthe sum of nearly a hundred thousand Dutch florins to my credit, somevaluable jewels, and a well-stocked wardrobe. I sent my Swissservant back to Paris, keeping only my faithful Spaniard, who on thisoccasion travelled with me, seated behind my chaise.

Thus ends the history of my second visit to Holland, where I didnothing to augment my fortune. I had some unpleasant experiencesthere for which I had my own imprudence to thank, but after the lapseof so many years I feel that these mishaps were more than compensatedby the charms of Esther's society.

I only stopped one day at Utrecht, and two days after I reachedCologne at noon, without accident, but not without danger, for at adistance of half a league from the town five deserters, three on theright hand and two on the left, levelled their pistols at me, withthe words, "Your money or your life." However, I covered thepostillion with my own pistol, threatening to fire if he did notdrive on, and the robbers discharged their weapons at the carriage,not having enough spirit to shoot the postillion.

If I had been like the English, who carry a light purse for thebenefit of the highwaymen, I would have thrown it to these poorwretches; but, as it was, I risked my life rather than be robbed. MySpaniard was quite astonished not to have been struck by any of theballs which whistled past his ears.

The French were in winter quarters at Cologne, and I put up at the"Soleil d'Or." As I was going in, the first person I met was theComte de Lastic, Madame d'Urfe's nephew, who greeted me with theutmost politeness, and offered to take me to M. de Torci, who was incommand. I accepted, and this gentleman was quite satisfied with theletter M. d'Afri had written me. I told him what had happened to meas I was coming into Cologne, and he congratulated me on the happyissue of the affair, but with a soldier's freedom blamed the use Ihad made of my courage."

"You played high," said he, "to save your money, but you might havelost a limb, and nothing would have made up for that."

I answered that to make light of a danger often diminished it. Welaughed at this, and he said that if I was going to make any stay inCologne I should probably have the pleasure of seeing the highwaymenhanged.

"I intend to go to-morrow," said I, "and if anything could keep me atCologne it would certainly not be the prospect of being present at anexecution, as such sights are not at all to my taste."

I had to accept M. de Lastic's invitation to dinner, and he persuadedme to go with himself and his friend, M. de Flavacour, an officer ofhigh rank, and an agreeable man, to the theatre. As I felt sure thatI should be introduced to ladies, and wished to make something of afigure, I spent an hour in dressing.

I found myself in a box opposite to a pretty woman, who looked at meagain and again through her opera-glass. That was enough to rouse mycuriosity, and I begged M. de Lastic to introduce me; which he didwith the best grace imaginable. He first presented me to CountKettler, lieutenant-general in the Austrian army, and on the generalstaff of the French army--just as the French General Montacet was onthe staff of the Austrian army. I was then presented to the ladywhose beauty had attracted my attention the moment I entered my box.She greeted me graciously, and asked me questions about Paris andBrussels, where she had been educated, without appearing to pay anyattention to my replies, but gazing at my lace and jewellery.

While we were talking of indifferent matters, like new acquaintances,she suddenly but politely asked me if I intended to make a long stayin Cologne.

"I think so, indeed," I answered, "but he may possibly be wrong inthinking you care to exercise it."

"Very good! We must catch him, then, if only as the punishment ofhis indiscretion. Stay."

I was so astonished at this speech that I looked quite foolish andhad to collect my senses. I thought the word indiscretion sublime,punishment exquisite, and catching admirable; and still more the ideaof catching him by means of me. I thought it would be a mistake toenquire any further, and putting on an expression of resignation andgratitude I lowered my lips and kissed her hand with a mixture ofrespect and sentiment, which, without exactly imparting my feelingsfor her, let her know that they might be softened without muchdifficulty.

"Then you will stay, sir! It is really very kind of you, for if youwent off to-morrow people might say that you only came here to shewyour disdain for us. Tomorrow the general gives a ball, and I hopeyou will be one of the party."

"Can I hope to dance with you all the evening?"

"I promise to dance with nobody but you, till you get tired of me."

"Then we shall dance together through all the ball."

"Where did you get that pomade which perfumes the air? I smelt itas soon as you came into the box."

"It came from Florence, and if you do not like it you shall not betroubled with it any more."

"Oh! but I do like it. I should like some of it myself."

"And I shall be only too happy if you will permit me to send you alittle to-morrow."

Just then the door of the box opened and the entrance of the generalprevented her from replying. I was just going, when the count said: